A couple of years ago I met a young man named Clay who is now 12 years old. I liked him immediately. I was impressed with his maturity, good manners and just how dang nice he was. It was great to get to know a young man who had traits beyond his years. 

I heard that Clay had a new fishing rod and that he wanted to spend a day of his summer vacation on the water and catch some fish. That’s all I needed to hear to offer up an invitation to him to join me on the lake. It took a couple of text messages back and forth with his parents to eventually hook up (the appropriate pun for what was is to come). 

Clay and his dad met me at the landing for some bluegill and crappie fishing. When they jumped into the boat, one of the first things that Clay said was: “Thanks for taking us fishing!” Clay confirmed that he was indeed “boat worthy” which is the highest level of regard that I can have for a person. 

I asked Clay what his personal record for most fish caught in a day was and his response of “three” was so quick that I knew it had to be true. I was careful with my response because I never want to anger the fish god so I responded with guarded confidence: “Well, I’m pretty sure that we are going to beat that record today.”  

When the fishing started it wasn’t all like I expected. For the first 15 minutes the only thing we caught was a cool breeze. I asked Clay if he was losing confidence in me and his response was also guarded as he offered up, “No, not yet.” From that point on, things got fun and in a hurry. 

I slid the boat around to a small weedy point and the fish started coming. It only took a couple of minutes for Clay to break his personal record and the longer we fished the higher that number grew. I can’t say for certain what his final number was but I would bet that it was over 50. Clay also caught the last fish of the day which meant that he was Crappie Boat Champion, so he got to drive the boat back to the landing. 

Our outing ended when we each had our limit of crappies and the burning hot sun said it was time to get off the water.   

So what was the cost for my time on the lake that day? 

Boat gas $11.00 

Jigs and Twister Tails: $3.50 

Water and snacks: $8.00 

Spending time in the boat fishing with Clay:  PRICELESS!! 

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